Page 5 of Amaris Rejected

"Zoe, not hungee!" She sticks out her bottom lip while crossing her arms. She’s the most adorable little pup, but I can't encourage this behavior, so I stifle my chuckle.

"Zoe!" I bite my lip. "We’ve talked about attitude!" I warn.

Her chocolate brown eyes welled up. "Sorry, Mama."

"That's better," I say, tousling her blonde ringlets. "Why don't we go to the diner and get some spaghetti? I know how much you love it!"

Her eyes light up. "Sketti!" Clapping her hands, she runs to the door and slips on her rain boots. "Ready!" She giggles.

She is quite a character with a personality larger than life.

"I guess that's settled then," I say, clasping Zoe’s hand. "Thank you, Mrs. Clark. Give my regards to Mr. Clark."

With that, we all walk out the door, closing it behind us to lock it.

Zoe and I forgo driving the car since the diner is just around the corner, within walking distance. She jumps and skips down the sidewalk, swinging energetically from my hand. I’ve always been grateful for her exuberance for life. After being abandoned by my mate, she’s the one who brought color back to my world.

In a booth at the back of the diner, the waitress, Misty, brings over a high chair. Zoe is nearly too big for it now, but it helps keep her seated long enough to get some food into her. As active as she is, it takes a lot of calories to fuel her tiny frame.

I place our dinner order while Zoe's coloring and chewing on the crayons I keep pulling from her mouth. "Misty, we’ll have spaghetti with meatballs, a child's portion for Zoe, and a garden salad. Please bring Zoe some milk, and I'll have water. Thanks."

"Sure thing, Amaris." I’ve lived here long enough to know that most everyone knows each other. During my pregnancy, when I was too tired to cook, I’d come here a couple of times a week for a meal.

It isn't long before Misty brings our salad and drinks. I pour Zoe's milk into her sippy cup. While we wait for the spaghetti, I try to feed her a few bites of salad.

"Me, Mama," she insists, taking the fork and trying to stab a piece of lettuce. She barely manages to spear a chunk of tomato in her efforts. Gleefully, she holds up her prize. "See, Mama!" I laugh as she stuffs it in her mouth, her eyes going wide. "Mmm!"

I’m so preoccupied with Zoe's antics that the diner fades into the background. Zoe keeps feeding herself, taking bites of salad while holding onto the plate. She is actually doing quite well.

Oddly, a tingling awareness pricks at my chest, causing it to itch. I rub the skin over my heart to ease the growing discomfort. I glance around and see nothing unusual—just the same faces I’ve known for the last three years. Then, through the large plate-glass windows of the diner, I notice two black SUVs pulling into the parking lot. The tingling sharpens into a stab, making my breath catch as I clutch my chest.

A powerful Alpha aura emanates from the vehicles, so strong it’s almost suffocating. It’s not our pack Alpha, Alpha Blake; I’d recognize his presence anywhere. Besides, his SUVs are built differently. Our pack often hosts Alpha conferences, and I believe there’s one this week. Perhaps it's an Alpha from a neighboring pack. It’s strange that I should react to another Alpha.Then it hits me!Oh, Goddess, no!I jerk my head up, and sure enough, Devonfreakin'Wright climbs out of one of the SUVs and looks straight through the plate-glass window at me and Zoe!

“Crap, crap, craptastic!” I panic, searching frantically for an escape, but there is none.

“Crap, crap, craplastic,” Zoe mimics like a parrot as I roll my eyes at her words.

“Crap, crap, crap,”I repeat internally. Okay. Maybe he won't approach me. He did, after all, abandon me three years ago. And he never bothered to talk to me as I walked out of the Meet-and-Greet. No word from him since.

Breathe! Breathe! Don't panic! Don't panic!

I look down at my food and keep eating calmly, with the healer’s façade intact, as I ignore his approach. My body language communicates, “I don't know him, and I don't want to know him.”

Zoe sits with her back to him, babbling merrily while stuffing food into her mouth and waving her spoon in the air, blissfully unaware that the room is closing around her Mama as the past steps out of the shadows. Thankfully, Misty chooses that moment to step between our line of sight to place our plates of spaghetti on the table.

"Sketti!" Zoe shrieks, clapping.

"Thanks, Misty," I say while thinkingthat was perfect timing.Or was it? As Misty walks away, Devon stands just behind her, not three feet away. He's bulked up since I last saw him. His chest muscles flex as he runs a hand through his long, slightly darker blond hair. Those sweet chocolate-brown eyes seem more dangerous to my self-preservation than charming. He was gorgeous back then, but now he’s sexier than ever. He’s no longer a young pup but a strong, virile male.And he's staring right at me.

"Amaris?" His eyes widen, and his mouth tightens into a straight line.

"Mmhmm?" I reply, taking a bite of spaghetti. I might seem calm on the outside as part of my training as a healer, but I'm freaking out on the inside.

"I want a bite," Zoe demands, suddenly becoming helpless and wanting me to feed her. I scoop up a forkful and offer it to her. I glance back up at Devon, and he notices Zoe. Recognition dawns on him, and his eyes fill with anguish.

Behind him, seven large wolf-shifters gather. It resembles the cast ofan FBI movie.

"Amaris?Can I... can I join you?" he asks hesitantly.

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